Metallurgical furnace.



U. WEDGE. METALLURGICAL FURNACE.

I APPLICATION FILED JULYII, IQIZ- RENEWED JULY l. 19'5- 1,162,532, Patented Nov. 30, 191-5.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- N i A? T ASL A k LT 4 O O 3 8 8 0 *5 o A o o o o .0 o A A A 2 8' 8 a a 5? M a A g Q v S v 5 O o a =t- O O 0 g 1- O O A *5" i 0 *3 o N WITNESSES H Mg g MENTOR fikmwafi%? kw UTLEY WEDGE COLUMBIA PLANDORAPH co. WASHINGTON. D. c.

U. WEDGE.

METALLURGICAL FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED IuLYII. I912. RENEWED JULY I. I915.

1 ,1 62,532. Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WITNESSES .INVENTOF a: T1 UTLEY WEDGE BY I-IIs ATTDRNEY Mm i COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 6a.. WASHINGTON. D4 c.

TINTTED TATES PATENT @FFTGE UTLEY WEDGE, OF ARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA.

METALLURGICAL FURNACE.

Original application 1 Serial No. 708,803.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, U'rLnY WEDGE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements 'in Metallurgical Furnaces, (the same being a division of my application Serial No. 624,792, filed May 8, 1911,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a structure (hereinafter, for convenience, referred to as a furnace) for roasting, heating, drying, calcining, cooling, or otherwise treating powdered or granular masses of ore or other material (hereinafter, for convenience, referred to as ore) and particularly to that class of such furnaces which have a series of superposed hearths over each of which the material is fed and from which it falls through suitable openings into the hearth below.

The object of my invention is to expedite the feeding of the ore throughthe furnace, an object which I attain by dividing each hearth into a plurality of units and feeding ore over each unit independently of the others, whereby, although the capacity of the furnace is represented by its full hearth area the time required to feed the ore through the furnace is only that represented by the hearth unit area.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the application of my invention to a furnace of the cylindrical superposed hearth type, and Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line aa, Fig. 1.

In the drawings, 1 represents the cylindrical outer wall of the furnace and 2 a central rotating shaft carrying projecting arms 3 upon which are mounted blades or rabbles 4 for stirring the ore and feeding it over the successive superposed hearths. I have shown these rabble arms and rabbles in but two of the treating chambers of the furnace, but it will be understood that they are present in all of the chambers, as well as above the roof of the furnace.

Where the treating hearths are of large size the usual plan of feeding the ore throughout the entire area of the hearth before discharging it into the hearth below is in many cases objectionable because of the amount of time required. I therefore divide each hearth into a plurality of zones or other units each with appropriate dis- Specification of Letters Patent.

filed May 3, 1911, Serial No. 624,792.

Renewed July 1, 1915.

Patented Nov. 3(1 1915.

Divided and this application filed .Tu1y 11, 1912,

Serial No. 37,584.

charge opening through which, in the case of the superposed hearth furnace, the ore can pass from either hearth to the hearth below and I provide foreach unit of hearth area rabbles for moving the ore over said unlt independently of the other unit or units of the hearth.

The furnace shown in the drawing has seven treating hearths, each divided into two zones, the first, third and fifth hearths having discharge openings a: at the inner portion of the inner zone and at the outer portion of the outer zone and the second, fourth and sixth hearths having single intermediate openings 1 located between the inner and outer zones and serving both zones.

The rabbles used in connection with the first, third and fifth hearths will be so disposed as to feed the ore outwardly on the outer zones and inwardly on the inner zones of said hearths and the rabbles employed in connection with the second, fourth and sixth hearths will be so disposed as to feed the ore inwardly on the outer zones and outwardly on the inner zones, as shown in 1.. It will be noted, therefore, that although each hearth of the furnace carries a load of ore equal to the full area of the hearth the extent of travel of each body of ore over the hearth equals only the zone area and consequently a given volume of ore can be passed through the furnace in much less time than if it had to traverse the entire area of each hearth.

By preference, the roof of the furnace is used as a drying floor for the green ore before the latter enters the furnace, this floor being provided with inner and outer zones and intermediate openings 13, consequently, the rabbles on the uppermost rabble arm will be disposed so as to feed the ore inwardly on the outer zone and outwardly on the inner zone preparatory to its passage through the opening 13 onto the uppermost treating hearth of the furnace. Preferably, also, the lowermost hearth of the furnace has a single set of openings so as to reduce the number of receptacles necessary to receive the discharge from the furnace.

The central shaft 2 is provided at its lower end with a bevel wheel 18 to which power may be applied for rotating the shaft, although other means of rotating the same may be adopted if desired.

I claim: A furnace havlng superposed annular hearths some provlded with discharge openings both at their inner and outer portions While alternate hearths are provided with discharge openings midway of the widths of the same and a central rotating shaft having thereon rabble carrying arms projeeting over the hearths, the rabbles on those arms which project over the hearths having inner and outer discharge openings being so disposed as to move the material from the middle of the hearth toward the inner and In testimony whereof, I have signed my 7 name to this specification, in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses. V

UTLEY WEDGE. /Vitnesses: V KATE A. BEADLE, HAMILTON D. TURNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained' for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, DC. 

